THE EX FACTOR #20

July 27, 2014
Elijah Ogidi-Olu
0 Comments

There are a few distinctive
things that makes us human and the ability to love and be loved isn't one of
them.

"He has apologized, he
has explained everything. What more do you want him to do?" I asked
looking straight at Titi's embittered face.

"I want him to leave me
alone." She replied with tears in her voice.

I looked at the lady, three
tables away from where we were seated and gave her the "mind your
business" look as she hurriedly diverted her attention to the plate of
food in front of her.

"Titi, why are you
flogging a dead horse?" I continued. "The only thing I can see here
is if you were already looking for a way out of this relationship in the first
place and it would be too bad if one of my friends were to tie a noose around
another of my friend's neck just so she could come out and be painted as the
Mother Theresa in this whole scenario. The guy had a slip of brain. It wasn't
like he cheated on you per say 'cos everything he told you is true. The instant
he realized what he had done was the moment he began pushing this June girl as
far away from him as possible without..."

"Why did he do it in the
first place" Titi cut in "if his manhood is itching him, what was I
at home for? Has he ever complained that I starved him of sex? Don't you see he
tied a noose or whatever you call it around his own neck?"

All through Titi's hundred
and one questions, I kept on motion my hands in the "keep calm" sign
and didn't want to interrupt her so she doesn’t raise her voice.

"It’s like you don't see
that this is exactly what that lady wants to happen. She just came down to Lagos
to scatter her ex's happiness and needless to say that you're his happiness.
You think it was a coincidence you guys became friends? She's just one drama
queen who had all her stupid tricks mapped out. I'm sorry for you if you think
she gives a f about you in the slightest. Forget it. Break up with him and
she'll start singing R.Kelly's 'that's the sound of victory'. Stick with your
man through his flaws and you might just have won a battle you never knew you
were fighting in the first place."

Titi looked at me for around
a minute or two and as usual, I couldn't guess what was going through her mind.
If what I just said held any meaning and has touched the soft spot of her heart
or if it was just being rebuffed by her normal stubborn nature... She shook her
head.

"I'm not fighting anyone
over Dave. If she wants to have him, she can go ahead. He's all hers. Let her
take him and do whatever she wants with him. I'm done with this stupid
tug-of-war. She won. That's it."

I knew even Titi's nature was
just going to make my work difficult than I had planned it and persuasion
wasn't going to move her. I had to come at her from another angle entirely.

"Well, he's confessed
like a man. I hope you'll honour your breakup with him by confessing as
well." I said with a straight change of tone.

"Confess what?... What
did I do?" Titi replied looking at me with a mixture of sadness and
curiosity.

"The day we both went to
my place in the evening from the bar, the text messages you sent to me that you
want me back, even though I knew you didn't mean it, the flirts, the day my girlfriend
busted in on us... Isn't that worth confessing too?"

"But nothing happened!"
She sounded really chocked up.

"Cos I resisted!"

"Oh!"

"You both need to
forgive yourselves and push out all forms of third parties so you can rebuild
your love lives from the scratch. Unforgiveness would just eat away your soul
and before you say Jack, you're down with one sickness or the other. Or you
don't know that unforgiveness can break up your physical body system?"

Titi frantically fought back
tears and it was even more obvious from her little shaky movements in her seat.

"Promise me you'll
forgive him. Do it for the sake of the love you have for him. Promise me."

With every barrage of
reluctance and hesitation forced out of the way, Titi blurted out "I
promise" and bursted into tears.

I grabbed her head and gave
her my shoulders.

****************

The directionless conversation
was lifting, the atmosphere wasn't bad either. The waiters were moving around
the bar tirelessly carrying out their duties in the best way known to them.
People were all over The Step Inn in numbers and a group of three guys and 5
girls wore the a matching top with "#TGIF" inscribed on the chest and
their various nicknames behind it.

Dave was the only person
drinking on the table as he slowly sipped his fifth bottle ofGuiness and the awkwardness could not just be
over emphasized as we all coincidentally agreed to take a much needed drinking break
as attentions were diverted to the bowl of sauced diced meat in the center of
the table. I guess my friends must have gone to reason on my health talks when
I tell them that a single bottle of beer contains over 20 cubes of sugar and
continuous intake can cause you liver fat and damage your liver. I guess not on
the health sermon though cos Doc and I were the only non-smokers on the table.
No surprise for our Jamaican Mikey, a little surprise for Dave but
understandably so, cos half of smokers are people who believe their very
pressing issues would get blown away with the puff that comes after the drag.

Some people even believe the
longer the drag, the more your problems are able to jump in like balls in a
cannon and then... Poof! They get blown out. I almost laughed my intestines out
when a lady told me her boyfriend always said that. Craziness and senseless
thoughts might just have a beginning. There's no end to it.

"What's going to happen
now that the etisalat guy has travelled?" Dave had asked me earlier and
all I could do was slam the back of my right palm on my left. A sign, meaning
"I don't know" where I come from.

He continued to drink and
smoke and we were forced into watching, as we couldn't find the correct
combination of words to make him stop an habit he had dropped over a year ago.
Nothing seemed to penetrate the invisible wall mounted beside his ears. At an
interval, he lifted up his head, looked at the rest of us and muttered
partially audibly and with a really worn out voice.

I locked gaze with Doc,
although I couldn't tell who looked at whom first and he smiled. What for?... I
didn't care to know. All that mattered was how to transport Believe out of here
peacefully and quietly to his place. Mikey's attention was hardly with us and
he was looking very much like a debtor or a criminal avoiding the cops.

"Guys... I'll be right
back." Mikey said and left.

Dave already had his head on
the table and arms wrapped around it, in the normal students sleeping style.

"I'll be right
back." I said and left too.

The contrast of the breeze
outside The Step Inn was nothing like the polluted, stuffy and thick version
inside. I took a deep breath and checked my phone.

5 missed calls.

"What need could be that
pressing that can't wait?" I thought as I hit the screen and pinned the
phone to my left ear.

"Hey... Whatsup dear?...
How are you?"

"I've been calling
you!"

"I'm hanging out with my
guys and its kindda noisy inside. So I had to step out and call you back."

"Really?"

"Yep... And what's the
'really' for?"

There's was silence for
around a minute before Lizzy decided to continue the conversation.

"I need to see you
Jay... We need to talk."

"Talk... I'm all
ears"

"Didn't I just say I
need to see you?" Lizzy snapped back like she was replying an insult or
something.

"Alright. I'll see you
tomorrow. Ok?"

"Take care. Bye."
She hung up before I could say anything further.

I stood on that spot for
about two minutes, staring blankly into thin air, with support from scattered
lights here and there and Tuface's Spiritual healing song when someone tapped
my shoulder. I jerked a bit and turned around to see a short thickly built man,
wearing a black round neck shirt, a blue jean and black boots with a cigarette
in his left hand.

"I hope this man knows
there's a pen knife in my back pocket before he mistakes me for someone
else." I thought 'cos incidents and stories like that aren't farfetched
from drunk peeps around here.

"Guy, no be your padi
wear blue long sleeve with one white round neck inside?"

"Hmmm... Yes?" I
replied seeing he just described Dave's outfit.

"Henhen... And another
one with black short sleeve and blue jeans abi?"

"Would you just get to
the freaking point you dwarf and tell me if something bad is happening or has
happened and stop wasting my precious time" I thought.

I dashed into the club and
saw people gathered, trying to lift Dave up. The inside lights were a bit too
dim but I saw a whole lot of blood on the shirt my friend wore and he was also
looking lifeless.

I didn't know when I put my
hands on my head.

If little drops of water here
and there can make an ocean, what name would be given to what little mistakes
here and there makes?

Hello. I'm Ogidi-Olu Elijah. A Creative Content Developer, Freelance writer and Blogger. I also help people manage their blogs via content management. Thanks for checking me out on MMT. Where, we talk with no holds barred. Got something for me? Kindly send me a mail. It's good to have you here. Let's have some fun!

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